Karl Antao’s works are not just sculptures; he calls them “mammoth creations”. Naturally the artist/sculptor doesn’t believe in duplicating a piece or making miniatures of any of his work.
However that was not how he began; Karl says the artist in him lay dormant until someone in his family pointed out “your paintings are only copies.” That made Karl, then a boy in his teens, think of what he would like to draw and paint. “At that point of time, I was reading War And Peace and I decided to depict my thought through paintings. The end result no matter what it was, gave me a sense of confidence. I fell in love with art,” says Karl who was in Hyderabad as a part of the Krishnakriti festival.
Karl fondly remembers his first brush with art. He says his dad would paint and send greeting cards to his mother and those images remain clear in his mind. “So, it would not be wrong to say, art was somewhere in the genes.”
In the age of technology and digital charm, Karl is not techsavvy; his comfort level is limited to using messaging only. His idea is, “Technology is just a tool, it depends on how one utilises it. For me every minute is precious and I am sure the same goes for others. So I would not want to spend my precious minutes doing nothing and letting technology win over my will.”As an active sportsperson Karl spent most if his time as a student in the track and field, cycling and playing basketball.
But as he grew up, his choice was clearly in favour of Art. He chose to go to JJ School of Art despite not having found his desired field. “I applied for graphic designing and decided to take a shift or a transfer mid session, things went as planned and I was glad I learned something more than I desired.”
Though Karl’s stint with advertising in Mumbai paid his bills, it didn’t make him happy.
“I was delegating, not working. I was ideating but not getting to lay my hands on the creatives. I missed art in a different way. So the break with dad paid off in a good way. It let me understand what I was missing,” recollects Karl.